Social Security Administration mistakenly lists High Point University student as dead

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DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. -- The Social Security Administration lists a High Point University student on their national Death Master File, causing complications to reapply for FAFSA.

Tyrah Henderson is an active student on the campus of High Point University and a Presidential Scholar.

She and her mother said they have been getting several “red flag” notifications since February because of the incorrect status of her Social Security number.

"Well they said that her Social Security number is coming up as deceased," her mom Tamika Henderson said. “The educational department won’t pay the loan to the school so that means I’ll have to fork it out of my pocket, which I can’t do that because I can’t afford it.”

After multiple correspondences between the Social Security Administration office in Greensboro and even reaching out to Sen. Richard Burr’s office for assistance, the Hendersons finally found out what had happened.

The Social Security Administration sent a notice to Tyrah that their “records wrongly showed” her as deceased.

The specific reason as to why was not stated but representatives said they would be supplying her with a year of free credit monitoring and to call their ID experts for further information.

A representative from the Social Security Administration said in an email statement:

“This rarely occurs but when it does the individual should contact Social Security immediately and our agency will take all actions necessary to correct our records.”